Wednesday, January 12, 2011

The goal of this map is to reduce the number of Republican representatives in Illinois from the current 11 to 3. I must admit that my ideal would be for every single state to have a non-partisan commission to do redistricting. Doing partisan maps such as this is indeed playing "ugly." However, as long as Republicans continue to push the envelope on this issue (including unprecedented mid-decade remaps like the one in Texas) there is no reason the Democratic Party should not likewise draw partisan maps in the states where it controls the process.

silver spring :: 15-3 Illinois Map: First Attempt

This is my first try at Illinois using Dave's Application. It's really a type of "first-draft" for me because the Application currently does not provide partisan data. I focused here more on demographics -- making sure the three African-American majority seats and single Hispanic majority seat are preserved, as well as creating a second Hispanic-majority seat. In several past diaries on Illinois, I read comments that a second seat might not be viable. However, I think a viable second seat can be created without too much trouble on the south side of Chicago -- one that's at least 63% Hispanic (under this proposed plan) while preserving the north side seat (which is 59% Hispanic under this map). I intentionally made the "south-side" seat relatively more Hispanic as that area is composed mostly of Mexican-Americans, while the "north-side" seat encompasses people of mostly Puerto Rican descent who are all citizens and therefore does not need to be as Hispanic.

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

WASHINGTON -- Slow population growth will reduce national political influence in both Missouri and Illinois starting in 2012, as Census Bureau figures released Tuesday cut each state’s congressional delegations by one.

Missouri will drop to 8 congressional seats from 9; while Illinois will lose one seat and drop to 18. The drop also means each state loses a vote in the Electoral College that formally elects the president. The losses will kick off intense political battles in both states as state legislatures convene to redraw the congressional boundaries early next year.

With each state losing a seat, the redistricting process will be a quest for power, as both parties seek to create districts that are safe for existing incumbents. At least one incumbent will be out of luck in each state and would have to face another incumbent in either a primary or general election to battle for the right to go back to Congress in 2012.

"And this is the cause of my life -- new hope that we will break the old gridlock and guarantee that every American -- north, south, east, west, young, old -- will have decent, quality health care as a fundamental right and not a privilege. "Ted Kennedy